Titles: Lighweight champion from 1957-1962
Record: 104-42-13 with 2 no contests
Born: May 18, 1926 in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)
Years active: 1946-1970
Nickname: Old Bones
Thirty years old and a professional for 10 years, Joe Brown finally
won the lightweight crown from Bud Smith but would hold on to it for
six years. Brown was a great student of angles and learned his trade in
the Army. After 10 years of fighting virtually all comers Brown was finally
given the shot at the world title. After 15 one sided rounds Brown walked
away as the new champion. Brown would beat Smith again in the rematch even
though he broke his hand in the second round of that contest. Joe Brown was
a curious fighter. He was tall and lanky and didn't look like he could hit,
yet he had surprising power. He had a good defense and was a accurate
puncher. His weaknesses were few but they were serious ones. He had a
tendency to go down and had trouble with brawling hard punching fighters
that refused to give him room to operate. After 11 successful defenses
against quality fighters like Ralph Dupas, kenny Lane and Dave Charnley
age finally caught up to Brown. In 1962 Carlos Ortiz beat him for the crown
and his career went into a steady decline and he only won 20 of his next
45 fights. Brown fought for 25 years in all, made 12 title defenses and
faced many excellent fighters before retiring at the age of 44.